One thing I think about ever time I travel is how quickly your whole routine flies out the window. All of a sudden, you’re in a new country, new city, with a new language, new family, and in this case a new menu where the only thing you can confidently pronounce is “agua”. So the question every morning becomes, when in Brazil… what on earth am I doing?
This question first came up on our walk to school, where Hannah, Sidney, Sophie and I decided that we were going to try to find our way to the school without any source of direction, as we walked every block we asked “are we actually going the right direction?” But with every block becoming a little more confident in our ability. As we approached the school celebrating our little victory, we were thrown right back into the unknown with Portuguese lessons. They say if you ever feel too confident, just try learning a new language; it will humble you really quickly, and this was no different. We learned medical terms, such as how to say hospital and doctor, and as quickly as it started we headed out to lunch.
The buddies ordered food for us, which was a very welcome break from the brain twisting of a new language. We tried picana, a type of steak, with rice and beans which fueled us for the rest of the afternoon. We walked to the subway noticing how suprisingly clean it was (NYC take notes!) and as we went through the subway with ease, that small confidence that maybe we could figure this out, was coming back.
We walked to the hospital in what was a beautifully sunny day. The streets were surprisingly quiet, only hearing the car tires turning and our chatter (in English, not Portuguese) and as we approached the hospital it felt almost like a normal environment. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t expect to see people actually at the hospital when we were there. It was an odd grounding moment recognizing while the world around us was so new, there was still so much familiarity to the people. We sat through a presentation on developing technology for cardiac patients by the chief of the hospital, got a brief tour and it had felt like as soon as we got there it was over and we were back at the school.
After heading back to school, we weren’t ready to call it a day. Our buddies said there was a park “close by,” which we later learned actually meant a 30-minute, very steep hill walk. I’m pretty sure we all questioned our life choices halfway up. But once we got there, it was beautiful.
We sat, laughed, watched some of the group play volleyball, and just soaked it all in until it got dark. Since the walk back would’ve been about an hour to get to our host families house, Sophie and Sidney’s host dad picked us up but not before our curiosity got the best of us at McDonald’s.
Ordering there was its own adventure. I tried speaking Portuguese but ended up pointing awkwardly at the menu board while the staff laughed at our inability to understand a word they were saying. Later, when we told our host family the story, they couldn’t stop laughing. Apparently even though the menu items are in English, they’re pronounced completely differently, which was once again a reminder that we have no clue what we are doing.
So even though I don’t have the answer yet, it’s kind of amazing how joy manages to sneak in especially when everything feels completely off-script.
But, for now, we’re just here in Brazil, figuring it out moment by moment, constantly asking “what on earth am I doing?” But maybe, that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do when in Brazil.
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